Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and originally released by RKO Radio Pictures. Based on the German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, it is the first full-length cel animated feature film and the earliest Disney animated feature film. The story was adapted by storyboard artists Dorothy Ann Blank, Richard Creedon, Merrill De Maris, Otto Englander, Earl Hurd, Dick Rickard, Ted Sears and Webb Smith. David Hand was the supervising director, while William Cottrell, Wilfred Jackson, Larry Morey, Perce Pearce, and Ben Sharpsteen directed the film's individual sequences. Snow White premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre on December 21, 1937, followed by a nationwide release on February 4, 1938. It was a critical and commercial success, and with international earnings of $8 million during its initial release briefly held the record of highest-grossing sound film at the time. The popularity of the film has led to its being re-released theatrically many times, until its home video release in the 1990s. Adjusted for inflation, it is one of the top-ten performers at the North American box office and the highest-grossing animated film. Snow White was nominated for Best Musical Score at the Academy Awards in 1938, and the next year, producer Walt Disney was awarded an honorary Oscar for the film. This award was unique, consisting of one normal-sized, plus seven miniature Oscar statuettes. They were presented to Disney by Shirley Temple. In 1989, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. The American Film Institute ranked it among the 100 greatest American films, and also named the film as the greatest American animated film of all time in 2008. Disney's take on the fairy tale has had a significant cultural impact, resulting in popular theme park attractions, a video game, and a Broadway musical. Plot An ornately decorated book sets the scene: the Evil Queen, who cares only for being "the fairest one of all", is jealous of the beauty of her stepdaughter, Snow White. She dresses her in rags and forces her to become a scullery maid in her castle. Each morning, she consults her magic mirror, asking it who is the fairest of all. It tells her that she is, and for a while, she is content. One morning, the Mirror tells the Queen that there is a maiden fairer than her: Snow White. Meanwhile, Snow White is in the courtyard, singing "I'm Wishing" to herself as she works. A handsome prince, riding by the castle, hears her voice and is enchanted by it. He climbs over the castle wall, unseen by her, who is singing to her reflection at the bottom of a well.He joins in, which startles and surprises her; she runs indoors, but when he pleads for her to return she comes to the balcony and listens as he sings "One Song" to her. Unseen by both, the Queen watches from her window high above. Infuriated at Snow White's beauty (and perhaps jealous for the Prince's affections), she closes the curtains in anger. The Prince smiles at Snow White before leaving. The Queen summons the Huntsman, and orders him to take Snow White far into the forest, and kill her; she demands Snow White's heart as proof. He is reluctant to do so, but is bound by his orders; he takes her deep into the forest, where he lets her gather flowers. As she helps a baby bird find its parents, he unsheathes his dagger and advances on her. When she sees him approaching, she screams in terror; however, he is unable to fulfill his orders and drops his dagger. Taking pity on her, he begs for her forgiveness and, warning her of the Queen's intentions, pleads for her to run away. Snow White obeys, and as she flees through the forest, her fear manifests itself in what she sees around her; eventually, she falls to the ground in fright and breaks down sobbing. She is comforted and befriended by the forest animals; she sings "With a Smile and a Song" and asks them if they know of a place where she can stay. The animals lead her to the Cottage of the Seven Dwarfs, which she finds empty and dirty. Thinking that cleaning it may persuade the owners to let her stay, she and the animals clean it and its contents while singing "Whistle While You Work". The dwarfs, meanwhile, are working in their mine, digging for diamonds. When it is time for them to go home for the day, they march through the forest, singing "Heigh-Ho". After cleaning the cottage, Snow White falls asleep on several of the dwarfs' beds. When the dwarfs see light coming from the cottage, they approach cautiously, thinking that a monster has taken up residence in there. They search the ground floor but are afraid to go upstairs. After an unsuccessful attempt by Dopey to chase the "monster" down, they all venture upstairs to discover Snow White sleeping. She wakes up and befriends each of them. They allow her to stay (though Grumpy is reluctant). She remembers that she has left soup downstairs and rushes to prepare it, ordering the dwarfs to wash while they wait. They proceed outside to a trough, where all but Grumpy wash themselves; the others later wash him, dumping him into the trough when supper is ready. That evening, the Queen once again consults her Magic Mirror, who tells her that Snow White still lives and that the Huntsman had given her a pig's heart. Furious at being tricked and his betrayal, she descends a spiral staircase, entering her dungeon, where she resolves to do away with Snow White herself. She uses a potion to transform herself into a witch-like peddler - a disguise to deceive Snow White. She then decides to use a poisoned apple to send Snow White into the Sleeping Death (a magically-induced coma). At the cottage, the dwarfs perform "The Silly Song", with Snow White singing and dancing along with them. She then sings "Someday My Prince Will Come" (referring to her romance with him) before sending them up to bed; however, they decide to sleep downstairs, allowing her to sleep in their beds, where she, looking towards the window, says thankful prayers about her and their protection, and wishes for Grumpy to like her more. Meanwhile, the Queen prepares the poisoned apple and, dismissing the possibility that Snow White may be revived by "love's first kiss" (the only cure for the Sleeping Death), gleefully proclaims that she will appear dead and be "buried alive". She leaves the castle and makes her way to the dwarfs' cottage, kicking the skeleton of a long-deceased prisoner on the way out. As the dwarfs leave for the mine in the morning, Snow White kisses each one on the forehead, though Grumpy initially resists. He warns her not to let any strangers into the cottage. After the dwarfs have left, the Queen in disguise goes to Snow White and offers her the poisoned apple, which she is about to accept until the animals, sensing danger from the vultures, try to attack her. This causes Snow White to take pity on her and takes her into the cottage. The animals then rush to the mine and try to tell the dwarfs of the danger. They eventually realize what is happening, thanks to Sleepy, and, led by Grumpy, hurry back to the cottage with the animals. The Queen persuades Snow White to take a bite from the apple by telling her that it is a "wishing apple", which will make any wish of hers come true; after biting it, she falls into the Sleeping Death, as the Queen cackles in triumph. The dwarfs arrive and chase her, eventually cornering her up a cliff, where she attempts to crush them with a boulder, but is sent over the cliff by a bolt of lightning, crushed by the boulder itself, and eventually devoured (off-screen) by the vultures that were following her. The dwarfs and animals mourn a seemingly dead Snow White. Although the other dwarfs are silent, Grumpy sobs at how he mistreated her, and Dopey sobs, being the one who loved her most of all. Unable to find it in their hearts to bury her, they place her into a glass coffin in a peaceful glade in the forest. The Prince arrives and, after singing a reprise of "One Song", kisses her, which breaks the spell. Awakened, she bids farewell to the dwarfs and animals, and rides into the sunset with the Prince to live happily ever after. Cast *Adriana Caselotti as Snow White: Snow White is a young princess. Her stepmother has forced her to work as a scullery maid in the castle. Despite this, she retains a cheerful but naïve demeanor. Marge Belcher served as the live-action model. *Lucille La Verne as Queen Grimhilde / Witch: The Queen is the stepmother of Snow White. Once her magic mirror says that Snow White is the "fairest" instead of her, she immediately enlists Humbert the huntsman to kill her in the woods. After she discovers that Snow White did not die, she disguises herself as an old hag and uses a poisoned apple to remove Snow White from her path without killing her. *Harry Stockwell as The Prince. He first sees Snow White singing at her wishing well. The prince immediately falls in love with her and her voice. He later reappears to revive her. *Roy Atwell as Doc: The leader of the seven dwarfs, Doc wears glasses and often mixes up his words. *Pinto Colvig as Grumpy and Sleepy in a dual role: Grumpy initially disapproves of Snow White's presence in the dwarfs' home, but later warns her of the threat posed by the Queen and rushes to her aid upon realizing that she is in danger, leading the charge himself. He has the biggest nose of the dwarfs and is frequently seen with one eye shut. Sleepy is always tired and appears laconic in most situations. Sterling Holloway, who would later voice many other characters for future Disney films was originally considered to voice Sleepy by Walt Disney. *Otis Harlan as Happy: Happy is the joyous dwarf and is usually portrayed laughing. *Scotty Mattraw as Bashful: Bashful is the shyest of the dwarfs, and is often embarrassed by the presence of any attention directed at him. *Billy Gilbert as Sneezy: Sneezy's name is earned by his extraordinarily powerful sneezes (caused by hay fever), which are seen blowing even the heaviest of objects across a room. *Eddie Collins as Dopey (vocal effects and live-action reference only): Dopey is the only dwarf who does not have a beard. He is mute, with Happy explaining that he has simply "never tried" to speak. In the movie's trailer, Walt Disney describes Dopey as "nice, but sort of silly". Mel Blanc was considered to voice Dopey by Walt Disney. *Moroni Olsen as The Magic Mirror: The Slave of the Magic Mirror appears as a green mask in clouds of smoke. The Queen regularly asks him who is "the fairest" in the land. *Stuart Buchanan as The Huntsman: Despite his status as the Queen's assassin, the Huntsman cannot bear to kill Snow White, even when the Queen orders him to take the princess's heart.